CHURCH SERVICES in the Benefice of the Upper Nar & Launditch

JANUARY 2020

1st SUNDAY – January 5th – Epiphany (White) Isaiah 60. 1-6 | Psalm 72 | Ephesians 3. 1-12 | Matthew 2. 1-12 8:00am Said Communion Julia Hemp 9:00am Communion Heather Butcher 9:30am Rougham Communion (CW) Miriam Fife 11:00am Morning Prayer Tom Butler-Stoney 11:15am Morning Worship Julia Hemp

2nd SUNDAY – 12th January - Baptism of Christ (White) Isaiah 42. 1-9 | Psalm 29 | Acts 10.34-43 | Matthew 3. 13 to end 8:30am Beeston Communion John Blore 9:15am East Communion Heather Butchers 9:30am Morning Prayer Jan Sexton 10:00am Weasenham St. Peter Communion Miriam Fife 10:15am Litcham Mattins John Blore 11:00am Little Communion Tom Butler-Stoney 11:15am Gressenhall Communion (CW) Heather Buthcer

3rd SUNDAY – 19th January - Epiphany 2 (White) Isaiah 49 1-7 | Psalm 40 | 1 Corinthians 1. 1-9 | John 1 29-42 9:00am Little Dunham Iona Communion Heather Butcher 9:30am Longham Communion Kevin Blogg 10.15am Litcham Sung Communion Heather Butcher 10:30am Family Service Miriam Fife 11:00am Mileham Communion (CW) Kevin Blogg 11:15am Gressenhall Morning Worship Dennis Ackroyd

4th SUNDAY – 26th January- Epiphany 3 Isaiah 9. 1-4 | Psalm 27 | 1 Corinthians 1. 10-18 | Matthew 4. 12-3 9:45am Beeston Celtic Morning Prayer Miriam Fife 10:00am Weasenham St. Peter Morning Prayer Peter Brown 10:15am Litcham Mattins Heather Butcher 10:15am Stanfield Iona Communion Philip Butcher 11:00am Communion (CW) Miriam Fife 11:15am Gressenhall Iona Communion Julia Hemp 3:00pm Messy Church Heather & Miriam 6:30pm Mileham Evening Prayer Tom Butler-Stoney

FEBRUARY 2020

1st SUNDAY - 2nd February, Candlemass (White) Malachi 3.1-5 | Psalm 24 | Hebrews 2.14 to end | Luke. 2.22-40 8:00am Litcham Said Communion Kevin Blogg 9:00am Little Dunham Communion Miriam Fife 9:30am Rougham Communion CW Kevin Blogg 11:00am Mileham Morning Prayer Tom Butler-Stoney 11.15am Gressenhall Morning Worship Julia Hemp 04:00pm Longham Candlemass Heather Butcher

2nd SUNDAY – 9th February, Third before Lent, Septuagesima (Green) Isaiah 58 1-9 | Psalm 112 | 1 Corinthians 2.1-12 | Matthew 5.13-20 8:30am Beeston Communion Miriam Fife 9.15am Communion Heather Butcher 9:30am Longham Morning Prayer Julia Hemp 10:00am Weasenham St. Peter Communion Miriam Fife 10.15am Litcham Mattins Jan Sexton 11:00am Mileham - Café Church in barn opposite village hall Tom Butler-Stoney 11.15am Gressenhall Communion CW Julia Hemp

3rd SUNDAY – 16th February, Second Sunday before Lent, Sexagesima (Green) Genesis Ch1.1 & Ch2.3 | Psalm 136| Romans 8.18-25| Matthew 6.25-34 09:00am Little Dunham Iona Communion Heather Butcher 09:30am Longham Communion Julia Hemp 10:15am Litcham Sung Communion Philip Butcher 10:30 am Gt. Dunham Family Service Miriam Fife 11:00am Mileham Iona Communion Julia Hemp 11.15am Gressenhall Morning Worship Heather Butcher

4th SUNDAY – 23rd February, Sunday next before Lent, Quinquagesima (Green) Exodus 4.2 to end | Psalm 2 or 99 | 2.Peter 1.16 to end | Matthew 17. 1-9 9:00am Gt. Dunham Iona Communion Heather Butcher 9.45am Beeston Mattins Julia Hemp 10:00am Weasenham St. Peter Morning Prayer Peter Brown 10.15am Litcham Mattins Tom Butler-Stoney 10.15am Stanfield Iona Communion Miriam Fife 11:00am Tittleshall Communion CW Heather Butcher 11.15am Gressenhall Iona Communion Julia Hemp 3.00pm West Lexham Messy Church Heather Butcher 06:30pm Mileham Evening Prayer Tom Butler-Stoney

ASH WEDNESDAY - 26th February 07:00pm East Lexham Communion John Blore

1st SUNDAY – 1st March, Lent 1 (Purple) Genesis 2.15-17 & 3.1-7 | Psalm 32 | Romans 5.12-19 | Matthew 4.1-11 8:00am Litcham Said Communion Heather Butcher 09:00am Little Dunham Communion Heather Butcher 09:30am Rougham Communion CW Julia Hemp 11:00am Mileham Morning Prayer Tom Butler-Stoney 11:15am Gressenhall Morning Prayer Julia Hemp

Readings are taken from the Common Worship Lectionary

(CW) - service conducted according to Common Worship (2000)

A full list of all the services for the Upper Nar and Launditch group of parishes can be viewed or downloaded from the Litcham website, visit www.litcham.org and click on ‘Services’ link at the top of the page. (www.litcham.org/Litcham/Services.html)

All enquiries should be directed to: The Priest in Charge, Upper Nar and Launditch Group of Parishes Canon Heather Butcher (Rector) The Rectory, Pound Lane, Litcham, PE32 2QR Phone: (01328) 700 071 or e-mail: [email protected] or Revd Julia Hemp (Vicar) The Vicarage, 4 Lodge Farm Meadows, Gressenhall, NR20 4TN Phone 01362 861380 or email: [email protected] or Revd Miriam Fife (Curate) Phone: 01328 700765 or email: [email protected]

REVEREND JULIA WRITES …..

When does Christmas end? Ask this question and you can expect to receive a wide variety of answers! For some it is when they go back to work, for others it is when the turkey and mince pies run out. Perhaps it’s when the decorations come down which can be soon after Boxing Day because many people like to get things back to normal after the festivities. As we know from the song ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’, traditionally Christmas lasts from Christmas Day until Epiphany on the 6th January, when we celebrate the visit of the Wise Men to the baby Jesus, which is why some people do not put the Wise Men in the nativity scene until 6th January. That might seem a strange thing to do when by the 6th January nearly all of us will have packed away the Christmas decorations, but those that follow the traditional teaching of the church will welcome the Wise Men into the nativity scene and not put it away until February 2nd when we celebrate Candlemas. Candlemas is a beautiful, ancient festival: this year our Benefice Candlemas service is on Sunday February 2nd at 4pm in Longham Church. So should it ever come up in a Pub Quiz, one answer to the question ‘When does Christmas end?’ would be February 2nd. The answer I like best is ‘never.’ In Jesus, God came to live amongst us in human form to make it possible for us to have a living relationship with him and to teach us how to live together in peace and take care of each other. At Christmas that work begins as we welcome Jesus into our lives and carries on each and every day of the year, as this wonderful poem by Howard Thurman suggests:

The work of Christmas When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among the people, to make music in the heart.

Readings are taken from the Common Worship Lectionary

(CW) - service conducted according to Common Worship (2000)

A full list of all the services for the Upper Nar and Launditch group of parishes can be viewed or downloaded from the Litcham website, visit www.litcham.org and click on ‘Services’ link at the top of the page. (www.litcham.org/Litcham/Services.html)

All enquiries should be directed to: The Priest in Charge, Upper Nar and Launditch Group of Parishes Canon Heather Butcher (Rector) The Rectory, Pound Lane, Litcham, PE32 2QR Phone: (01328) 700 071 or e-mail: [email protected] or Revd Julia Hemp (Vicar) The Vicarage, 4 Lodge Farm Meadows, Gressenhall, NR20 4TN Phone 01362 861380 or email: [email protected] or Revd Miriam Fife (Curate) Phone: 01328 700765 or email: [email protected]